900 NYPD members will be positive for coronavirus by Monday, commissioner says

900 NYPD members will be positive for coronavirus by Monday, commissioner says

/ 03/29/2020

The number of confirmed NYPD coronavirus cases is expected to spike Monday morning to around 900, Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said Sunday — as he revealed that more and more cops continue to call out sick.

That’s a jump of 300 cases since Saturday.

“We know that those numbers are going to continually grow,” Shea said of confirmed cases. “We’re looking at both sides of the spectrum, quite frankly: what is the current sick rate as officers are still becoming infected? And when is that beginning to plateau?”

The number of cops out sick Sunday was close to 5,000, or nearly 14 percent of the force, according to the commissioner. That number is up by nearly 800 officers from the day prior.

Shea did not say how long cops were being told to stay home once they go out with potentially deadly pandemic COVID-19.

The growing numbers come a day after the NYPD lost its first uniformed officer to the virus.

The 48-year-old Cedric Dixon worked in the 32nd Precinct in Harlem and died Saturday morning.

Dixon was the third member of the NYPD to die over the past few days. On Thursday, an administrative aide in the Bronx and 62-year-old cleaner at 1 Police Plaza were both claimed by COVID-19.

Shea did add a bit of positive news, saying the first set of officers who contracted the virus were starting to return to work. Officers began to go out sick on March 12, according to the commissioner.